On this day, 81 years ago, on October 14, 1944 (August 28, 1944 in the lunar calendar), German Field Marshal Rommel was forced to commit suicide. Rommel Rommel Erwin (1891-1944), Field Marshal of Fascist Germany. He participated in the First World War. In 1918, during the November bourgeois revolution in Germany, he served as company commander of the guard company. From 1919 onwards he served as company commander, tactical instructor at the Dresden Infantry School, commander of the Chaser Battalion at Goslar, instructor at the Potsdam Military School, director of the Vienna New Town Military School, and head of the Hitler Headquarters Guard. In February 1940, he served as commander of the 7th Tank Division and participated in the war against France. During the Second World War, he kept a detailed diary of the battle process and preserved a large number of documents, which provided a basis for future generations to study the Second World War. On May 10, 1940, Hitler finally launched his long-prepared war of aggression. On the Western Front, the German army adopted blitz tactics and in just ten days they crossed the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and then invaded France. During the attack on France, Rommel served as commander of the 7th Armored Division of the 4th Army, responsible for the mission of breaking through the Muse River and invading Cherbourg. After crossing the French border, Rommel's vanguard troops followed the retreating French 1st and 4th Cavalry Divisions and reached the River Muse on the afternoon of May 12. At this time, two bridges at Dinant and Hauces had been destroyed by the French army, and Rommel's armored division was blocked from crossing the river. In the early morning of May 13, Rommel ignored the French artillery bombardment and came to the shore to learn about the enemy's situation and find a location to cross the river. He found that the French army occupied favorable hidden terrain in the west of the river and used heavy artillery to block the Muse River, making it difficult for the German army to find their exact location; Almost all the crossing tools here were destroyed by the French army. As long as the German army appeared, there was a danger of being annihilated. After on-site reconnaissance, Rommel believed that only by using powerful artillery fire to suppress all areas on the west bank suspected of being hidden by the enemy could the Germans cross the Muse River. So Rommel sent artillery and ordered the burning of houses along the coast to serve as smoke screens before crossing the river. Then, under the cover of fierce artillery fire, the forced crossing began. During the forced crossing, Rommel took the first batch of ships and took direct command. After establishing a foothold on the West Bank, Rommel immediately returned to the East Bank to the crossing point of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. A company of workers in the 2nd Infantry Regiment was erecting an eight-ton floating raft, and he immediately ordered it to be replaced with a sixteen-ton type. The purpose of Rommel's order was to get some tanks to cross the river as soon as possible. Otherwise, the infantry who had reached the West Bank would be attacked by French tanks and artillery. As expected, the French army launched a counterattack before the floating raft carrying the tanks reached the shore. The next morning, the first batch of fifteen tanks landed on the West Bank. Rommel commanded the German army on the west bank of the river to attack the French army in the shade of the forest, covering the subsequent troops to cross the river. The German army broke through the Muse River line, posing a serious threat to the French army, so the French army abandoned the Muse River line and retreated. Pre-emptive Rommel led the vanguard troops to closely pursue the French troops retreating from the River Muse. He led the chariot regiment and used artillery as cover to advance quickly, leaving his neighbors far behind. From June 5, Rommel's armored divisions had begun to attack from the north bank of the Somu River to the south bank. The road bridge over the Somu River had been blown up during the French retreat, but only two railway bridges and two dry bridges remained intact. Before Rommel launched an attack on the south bank of the Somu River, he first used strong artillery fire to block the bridges. After occupying the four bridges, tanks, other vehicles and infantry were allowed to pass quickly. On the morning of June 6, Rommel's armored divisions were already in a drill on the south bank of the Somu River, moving cross-country in a clear battle sequence. Armored vehicles took the lead, walking and fighting at the same time, advancing at just the right speed for the infantry to keep up. On this day, the Germans advanced twelve miles, and the next day thirty miles. Rommel's Panzer Division attacked Cherbourg on June 20 and defeated the French. In six weeks of fighting, Rommel's armored division only suffered more than 2,000 casualties, while the enemy captured a total of more than 97,000 people. Due to the victory of this attack, Rommel was awarded a Samurai Cross. Rommel summed up a lesson from his war against France: in the battle between the two armies, whoever first suppresses the other side with firepower will often win; those who wait for the situation to develop while still will often be defeated by the other side. Therefore, even if you have not found the other party's accurate target, you must take the initiative. Speed first. In June 1940, just as fascist German troops were attacking France, Italy declared war on Britain and France, while taking the opportunity to send troops to North Africa to attack British Egypt and Somalia, in an attempt to seize the Suez Canal and control the passage of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. In December, the British began a counterattack. Italian troops were forced to withdraw into Libya. At the beginning of 1941, the British army landed in Tobruk, Libya, and attacked the Italian army retreating from Egypt. After two months of fierce fighting, ten Italian divisions were wiped out. On February 6, 1941, the German army decided to send a light division and an armored division to rescue the Italian army. Rommel was appointed commander of the German African Army that rescued the Italian troops. Starting from February 11, Rommel began to go to the African battlefield to learn about the situation and found that the British army had occupied Benhezi and was preparing to attack into Tiporitania. Therefore, Rommel first ordered the Italian troops to stick to the Tipolytania Line in the Serti Gulf area. Because this line of defense could not only prevent the British army from further deepening, but also allow the German Air Force to have the necessary space to fight in Africa in order to launch a lightning attack on the British army. However, the problem we face is insufficient troops. It would be too late to stop the British attack if all two German divisions arrived. Now there is only one regiment. After the defeat, the morale of the Italian army in Tipoli has been greatly reduced. Most of the officers have already packed their luggage, hoping to withdraw to Italy as soon as possible; In order to prevent the British from continuing the offensive, Rommel decided to use existing forces, including the first batch of German reinforcements that were about to arrive, and had asked the Air Force to launch an air attack on the port of Benhezi to blow up the British transportation route to Benhezi and disrupt British reinforcements. Rommel's plan was opposed by Italy. Some Italian military and political officials had properties in the Benhezi area and were unwilling to bomb there. The Italian army did not believe that it could hold the Serti area and prevent the British attack. At Rommel's insistence, the Italian army bombed the British transport line to Benhezi and sent a division to reinforce Serti on February 14. On the same day, the German vanguard troops, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and a Combat Anti-Gun Battalion, also arrived at the Port of Tipoli, and reached the front line 26 hours later. On the 16th, Rommel officially took over the general command of the front line. At the end of February, Rommel received a new situation on the enemy. The British ace 7th Armored Division withdrew to Egypt for rest and replenishment; its theater was taken over by half of the 2nd Armored Division, which had just been transferred from Britain and was full of recruits. The 6th Division of the Australian Army also replaced the 9th Division, but part of this division has not yet reached the front line due to supply difficulties. The British army dared to do this because they believed that Germany had few troops to support them and did not dare to act rashly. Contrary to the British army's thoughts, Rommel did not wait for all the German troops to arrive, but took advantage of the favorable opportunity and conditions of the British army to mobilize and underestimate the enemy to take bold offensive actions. At this time, the German 5th Tank Regiment and a division of the Italian Army had reached the front line. On March 15, Rommel formed a mixed column of German and Italian troops and launched an attack from Serti towards Murzuch, rapidly advancing 450 miles south. This operation dealt unexpected blows to the British army. At the same time, it also gained experience in how to equip and march long distances in combat under African conditions, laying the foundation for future attacks. In the early morning of March 24, Rommel commanded the German army to capture the fortress, water source and airport in the Aighela area, and the British army withdrew to the Ajdabia area. After withdrawing to the Ajtabia area, the British army occupied the Mersa Pass, which could control the highland in this area, and the highland south of the Beer Saltwater Moor, and built fortifications there to prepare for defense. At this time, Rommel faced the question of whether to wait until the troops arrived at the end of May before attacking, or to act immediately. If we wait for the arrival of follow-up troops before taking action, there is an urgent need to solve the water source problem, because the water source in the occupied area has been exhausted. At the same time, it will also allow the British army to use this time to build solid fortifications, which will cost the German army a greater price. Otherwise, we can only use our existing forces to attack the Mersa Pass in order to defeat the enemy with one drum. Rommel decided not to give the British army a respite and attack the enemy as quickly as possible, turning passive into active. On the morning of March 31, when the British army was not stable, the Germans began to attack the Mersa Pass. After a day of fierce fighting between the two sides, the German army occupied the pass in the evening. The next day, the German army launched an attack on Ajdabiya, and it also took a day to occupy the area around Ajdabiya. In this battle, in order not to let the enemy know his strength, Rommel used cars to convert them into many fake tanks to confuse the enemy and achieve good results. Due to Rommel's flexible use of mechanized troops and no respite for the enemy, in less than a week, the British army retreated more than 200 miles from its western border position in Cyrenaica; in less than two weeks, the British army retreated 400 miles from the eastern border of Cyrenaica, leaving only one force besieged in Tobruk. Rommel summarized the main reason for his victory in the North African battlefield as: "Speed comes first. "Because Rommel's flexible command and combat operations and his ability to use troops according to the characteristics of the desert terrain, climate and other characteristics, the British army often defeated the many with fewer and changed from passive to active, calling him the" Desert Fox." After the British army withdrew to Tobruk, Churchill pointed out in a secret consultation with the Chiefs of Staff: "It seems unbelievable to abandon Fort Tobruk." As a result, a large number of reinforcements were sent here to strengthen defense, and the two sides formed a tug-of-war. In June 1942, the German army captured Tobruk Fort. In order to reward Rommel for this victory, Hitler promoted him to Marshal. Rommel was only 49 years old at the time. Soon after, the German army suffered defeat in the African battlefield, and in March 1943, Rommel was transferred back to base camp. He once told his son Manfried that he had fallen out of favor and believed that he could no longer hope for any important position at present. So he began to write memoirs. In July, he was appointed commander of Army Group "B" in northern Italy, and in December he served as military supervisor in Denmark, the headquarters of the Supreme Command. From December 1943 to July 1944, he served as commander of Army Group "B" in France. On July 20, 1944, after the anti-Hitler group was exposed, Hitler arrested a number of officers. Among the arrested officers were Rommel's old comrades and subordinates, who had personally asked for help from Hitler. As a result, he also became the target of Hitler's assassination. On October 14, 1944, Rommel, who was invading everywhere for fascist Germany, was finally forced by Hitler to commit suicide by taking poison. The wreath sent by Hitler after Rommel's death and Italian Commander-in-Chief Gariporti in Tripoli (1941) Rommel (2 from right) took a photo with his sister and two younger brothers